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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27926623">Better Nature</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/scholarlydragon/pseuds/scholarlydragon'>scholarlydragon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lore Olympus (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A/B/O themeing, Alpha persephone, Alphasephone is a word now, Angst, F/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega hades, Scenting, Self-Loathing, Sweet, defying perception, finding self, handjob, healing of all kinds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:53:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,462</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27926623</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/scholarlydragon/pseuds/scholarlydragon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hades is an Omega, but struggles against perception and his deficiencies. Persephone has grown up believing that she is a Beta, but yearns to make sense of the strange knowledge that there should be more. A chance encounter at the Panathenea will change both of their lives.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hades/Minthe (Lore Olympus), Hades/Persephone (Lore Olympus)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>242</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Watermelone/gifts">Watermelone</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Watermelone- The fact that this story exists is, at its core, your fault. Thank you.</p><p>With thanks to my betas: Alulah, Bree, and daalex. I couldn't do this stuff without you lovely ladies.</p><p>This story is my attempt to adapt A/B/O tropes to the Lore Olympus characters and universe. I am not sticking strictly to A/B/O “canon”- there will be places where I diverge a bit, and places where I make up my own things wholecloth, partly to make it fit better with LO and partly because I liked the idea better.</p><p>If you are an A/B/O purist, I would like to think my story has something to offer you any way, and I would appreciate a read, but please do not leave comments telling me that I did it all wrong like “Women can’t be Alphas!”</p><p>Concrit and comments in general are always welcome.</p><p>There is a lengthy endnote on the first chapter explaining how the A/B/O biology will work in this story.</p><p>Incidentally, if you are a diehard fan of Minthe, steer clear of this story. She will not be portrayed in the least kind of sympathetic light. I do not stan an abusive partner.<br/></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The room was too hot, the music was too loud, and his brothers smelled disgusting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hades shifted miserably in his chair, crossing and uncrossing his legs. It was no use. With the ache of need pulsing in his belly and an absorbent plug preventing slick from trickling from his ass down his thighs, there was no comfortable position to be had. He gingerly adjusted himself, trying not to touch the shaft of his penis as he plucked futilely at the cloth of his trousers, seeking to ease the uncomfortable pressure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had been half-hard all evening- not unexpected considering the onset of heat- and it had been a constant struggle to ease the pinch of his clothing without actually touching himself. Not only was Hades averse to the idea of groping himself in any fashion in public, it was particularly ill-advised during heat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too firm of a stroke and he’d end up rubbing one out right in front of his brothers, decorum abandoned in the face of guttural need.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Poseidon glanced over with a worried frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bro, are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> you want to stay? You look like shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hades shook his head irritably, regretting it immediately as the room spun in his peripheral vision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you, I’d rather be here. I need this distraction.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zeus scowled and folded his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re being stubborn to the point of stupid. You need an Alpha or you need to be at home. Or both. Either one of us would be happy to drive you home and hire an Alpha to keep you company.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hades closed his eyes, biting back the simultaneous waves of annoyance and pain. Zeus didn’t understand. He never would. Not when his Alpha mindset saw any sex he cared to have as only being a thought and an imperious gesture away. Not when Hades knew that even if he did try to search out an Alpha, they would only…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He physically flinched from the thought, the pain of it digging hooks into his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Broken, useless Omega.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrapping his arms around his ribs, Hades gritted out to Zeus, “We’ve been over that. I’m not doing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zeus scoffed and turned away without another word. Poseidon lingered, watchful and worried. Hades looked away. Of his brothers, Poseidon was the more sympathetic to Hades’ particular situation, but they were still Alphas. They couldn’t fully understand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His previous unfinished thoughts battered at him as though with a flurry of black wings.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>There isn’t an Alpha in all the realms that wants me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>To the mind of an Alpha, one truth was paramount: “Omegas need sex”. Such a base, carnal rationale had been the excuse for plenty of instances of questionable consent. However, what most Alphas recognized was that there was a deeper meaning. What Omegas craved was </span>
  <em>
    <span>care</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Omegas needed to know they were valued. Especially in heat when they were at their most raw and vulnerable. They needed to know that an Alpha wanted them, cherished them. Ideally, in a permanent bond, but in a pinch a friendly hand to help in heat would be welcome. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To Zeus, it was enough that a king needed help. He could not fathom any being declining to assist. He expected, had even commented in that infuriatingly imperious way of his, that Hades should vet employees as designated Alphas to assist whenever he needed. Hades knew he had done so with members of the court of Olympus to take part in his ruts. Zeus liked to have as many partners as possible, much to the chagrin of his wife.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Poseidon understood that Hades was reluctant to simply open himself up to random Alphas, but even he didn’t know the full reason why. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In all of his long life, Hades had never met a single Alpha who was truly interested in him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Money or power or sex. That was what they were interested in. What he could do for them as king, or with his body. Nothing else. Even Minthe…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He bit back a moan of pain as his traitorous body responded to the mere thought of the Alpha who deigned to warm his bed when it suited her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew it was wrong. Knew it in the conscious thoughts that understood what he needed as an emotionally aware individual and as an Omega. Knew that he deserved better than indifference and cruelty. Knew he deserved better than insults.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the Omega instinct, the touch-starved whimpering dog in his hindbrain, still craved her approval. Still fawned on her Alpha nature, hoping to appeal to something beyond the basic possessive instincts, hoping that this was the time it would be different and she might look at him as an Alpha should look at an Omega, not with scorn but with tenderness. Still told him that an Alpha willing to be with him at all was better than no Alpha whatsoever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had intended to seduce her tonight, to preen on her arm all evening, showing everyone what a good Omega he was, in desperate hopes that the public approbation would spark some pride in her for him. He had hoped that he would be able to use that Alpha pride to beg her to help him with his impending heat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was rare for Minthe to agree to help him with a heat outside of coinciding with her own rut, but Hades had been so hopeful, so fervently hopeful that this time would be different. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could not stomach the idea of another heat cycle alone, frantically fucking himself with his toys, pretending that the indifferent material was the warm flesh of a caring Alpha, pretending that as his climax neared and his breath caught, that he could hear Minthe’s voice lovingly whispering </span>
  <em>
    <span>Knot me, my Omega</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and he would swell at her command, the only time an Omega could expand the penile knot, locking them together in a tender embrace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Squeezing his eyes shut, swallowing hard against the prickle of tears behind his eyes, Hades shuddered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His plans had come to nothing. Minthe had refused to come to the Panathenea with him. He was alone, facing the choice of sitting here feeling the burn of need or going home to the despair of yet another solitary cycle.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Broken. Useless.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrapping one arm around his aching belly, Hades pressed his other hand to his mouth, frantically trying to hold in the sob that choked him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as Alphas knew what Omegas needed, Omegas knew the desires of Alphas: “The Alpha wants a good Omega to produce children.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again, there was deeper meaning. Betas could have children with Alphas, though the chances of pregnancy were much lower than that of an Alpha-Omega pair. What Alphas craved, what their biology demanded, was to protect- whether just an Omega or a family bond with children. They sought those who needed them and would appreciate their strength.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tears escaped and traced down Hades' cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to be that for an Alpha. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be a good Omega for an Alpha who would praise his devotion, would love him for himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But no one wants the whelp of a tyrant. The eldest son of the worst villain the cosmos has ever known cannot be good.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>His Omega scent and nature said </span>
  <em>
    <span>help me</span>
  </em>
  <span> to Alphas, but his appearance shouted </span>
  <em>
    <span>threat</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was a rare Alpha who could overlook that conflict between instinct and knowledge; those that could seemed to need other motivating factors: wealth, power, and the bragging rights of bedding the only Omega king.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hades shivered, hugging himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He has told himself sometimes that he would have accepted that as his lot: to be a simple notch on a scorecard, the Omega for Alphas greedy enough or bored enough to look for something different.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the Fates had had other ideas. When coupled with who and what he was, it was a crueler twist of irony than they had seen fit to visit on any other being.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Infertility.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not only was Hades the whelp of Kronos, not only was he the very image of his tyrant father, he couldn’t even sire offspring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No doctor had ever been able to ascertain why he was infertile, but the best theory was that it was due to the trauma of being consumed and then vomited by Kronos. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or the thirteen years, including his presentation as an Omega, spent in the unknowable environment of the inside of a Titan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or the long and painful recovery. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t really matter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no cure, no solution that had ever been found, and as the centuries had worn on, Hades had steadily lost hope that he might find some Alpha willing to overlook his lineage and deficiencies, and embrace him for himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was broken. Lacking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Facts of which Minthe took care to remind him with regularity. That she was only with him for what he could do for her lifestyle and that no one in their right mind would want an Omega who looked like and stank of death.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He drew up his knees as best he could in his chair, turning and curling in on himself, letting out a soft, whimpering keen as his body cried out for comfort.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just a bit longer…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He would tell himself that as often as he had to, taking each moment of the Panathenea as it came, telling himself with each passing minute </span>
  <em>
    <span>just to hang in there a little longer</span>
  </em>
  <span>, staving off solitude as long as he could until there were no more moments and his only option was to go home alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Persephone fidgeted with the hem of her dress for the hundredth time, tugging it down her thighs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Artemis sighed and caught at her hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you relax? You look fine. Actually, you look fantastic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Persephone ventured a small smile for her friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really think so?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Artemis rolled her eyes with a grin. “Nah, I make a habit of lying for no good reason. I’m telling you, Persephone, you really do look fantastic.” She squeezed Persephone’s hands. “Come on. Let’s get some punch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Persephone let herself be tugged along in Artemis’ wake, trying not to be too dazed by the thumping music and flashing lights. She had never experienced anything quite like the Panathenea and she was alternating between hoping that she might actually manage to have a good time and that she wouldn’t be sick all over her shoes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Artemis maneuvered them deftly to a blessedly empty spot next to the refreshment table. The attendant, an Alpha cyclops with a twinkle in his eye, gave them a polite nod and poured two glasses of a deep red fruit punch. Taking the glasses, Artemis handed one to Persephone, mock-saluting her. Persephone took the drink with a grateful smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you want to dance?” Artemis leaned close and spoke loudly in Persephone’s ear to be heard over the music.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Persephone shook her head. She had no confidence in her ability to pull off anything other than the rustic dances she had learned at home. Especially not in this dress that felt much, much too short.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I just want to people-watch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Artemis seemed less than thrilled at that idea, but she acquiesced with a heavy sigh. They wound their way to an open spot near the edge of the dancefloor and took up position. Taking a sip of the fruit punch, Persephone surveyed the crowd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beings of every description partied to the music, bodies moving in chaotic yet mesmerizing synchronicity, the pounding music and swirling lights turning the scene into a living tapestry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even aside from scent, she could pick out the Alphas in the crowd most easily. They consistently danced the most aggressively, sure of themselves and the space they occupied, often surrounded by excited Betas and Omegas. Some Alphas danced alone, throwing themselves into the beat with fervor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All around the dancefloor, Betas danced with Betas, seemingly content with each other, some with the intimacy of lovers, some with friendly distance. Here and there Betas danced alone with varying degrees of skill and ability.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What she didn’t see was any solitary Omegas. Every single one was dancing with another being.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of them, that is, except those scattered around the dancefloor who, her nose told her, were Omegas. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Interesting. Why aren’t they dancing</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In her studies, she had learned much about the biology of the three designations, but she was quickly realizing that there was a great deal of difference between textbook knowledge and practical social experience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a middle-aged satyr, an Alpha, dancing with a slim young male naiad, an Omega. To all appearances, they seemed pleased with each other, but to Persephone’s eye, there seemed something off, something artificial about them. But she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed in frustration, asher head began to pound with a strange thrum. All her life there had seemed to be information just out of her reach, just beyond understanding. All Betas could read limited information from the scents of others, but she felt that as a Beta she should be able to know </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was like feeling through a darkened room and being told that it was natural to not have light. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> that there should be light. If she could only have known where the light switch was...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Persephone lifted her hand, touching the charm that hung at her throat. As always, the small medallion, carved with a mighty tree, calmed her, reminding her of home and her mother. Demeter had given it to her on her tenth birthday and told her that if she ever felt unsettled or upset, a touch to the necklace would remind her that no matter what else happened, her mother would always love her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Memory flitted back of the night before she had left for Olympus, to attend the university and live away from home for the first time ever:</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Always remember, sweetpea of mine,” Demeter said, touching the necklace, “I will always love you. I will always be your mother.”</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“I know, mama,” Persephone smiled through her tears and flung her arms around her mother’s neck. As excited as she was to begin this new adventure, she couldn’t shake the part of her that was sad to be leaving her mother’s house and protection…</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>A sudden noise broke into her thoughts, a flurry of shouting and muffled thumps. Suddenly, an impact on her back knocked her sideways, stumbling. Flailing, she turned, falling past Artemis’ alarmed grab, only barely catching sight of the mortal who had run into her. His fingers caught the fine chain of her necklace and, as if in slow motion, they both fell, the chain breaking in the flashing lights of the dance floor. The charm hit the floor and bounced, once, twice, and was crushed under the shoe of a dancer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Persephone only had a moment to climb to her feet, trying to absorb the shock of the moment and the anguish of losing such a cherished gift before her senses exploded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She cried out, clamping her hands to the sides of her head and doubling over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a roaring in her ears, threaded with a frantic voice that she could not tell if it came from within or outside her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A new awareness pulsed in the back of her mind, a hungry and watchful instinct that observed and </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It might have been terrifying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>exhilarating</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With no idea how it had happened, Persephone knew somehow that nothing in her life had ever been more right than greeting this new part of herself with full enthusiasm. Because the difference between the moments before and after the breaking of the charm were like throwing open the windows of a dusty, closed-up room, letting in the freshest of breezes. It was surfacing from swimming, lungs burning, and taking the deepest, sweetest breath. It was the difference between looking at sheet music and hearing the symphony.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For in addition to this sudden new awareness were the </span>
  <em>
    <span>scents</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where before the scents of the dancers had carried simple information, to be analyzed and filed, now they carried a </span>
  <em>
    <span>potency.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Persephone lifted her head, breathing deep, and the new awareness in her mind </span>
  <em>
    <span>learned</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could smell impending heat and uncertainty on every Omega watching the dancing. They feared an early trigger from the intensity of the dancing, but had come to the Panathenea in the hopes of attracting the attention of an Alpha.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The aggressive posturing of the dancing Alphas had been obvious before, but now each was awash was a cocky certainty. They knew they would attract what they sought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could scent the pregnancy of a nymph seated at a nearby table. The pretty Beta savored the secret, drank her water, and happily planned how to tell her Alpha lover, a dark skinned satyr who gazed at her adoringly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the dryad dancing with the naiad… He stank of arrogant conceit. He was attending with an Omega who was not his. His mate remained safely at home, which was enough to mollify his Alpha instincts, while he reveled in being the one to potentially service heated Omegas, desperate for connection with any Alpha that would accept them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Persephone took a step forward, a growl rising in her throat, revulsion burning within her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Omegas trusted Alphas. Alphas protected Omegas. Even as a Beta, she had known these fundamental truths. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But I’m not really a Beta… am I?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The flicker of thought in the back of her mind beneath the hot roil of realigning perspective refined itself in a heartbeat to sharp and clear as crystal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was not a Beta. It was impossible for her to have ever been. Not when this dark instinct in her mind purred joyfully at being put to use.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She set aside the question of how and why this had happened for later consideration. There were more important things at hand. Deep need to answer the scented hope of the Omegas coiled in her belly. She would find one of them that pleased her and ask if they wished to choose her. The idea of it was strange. She had never fathomed doing such a thing, essentially propositioning a stranger. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was shocked by the idea. But the joyous purr deepened at the thought of helping a willing Omega and she could not ignore it. She would do this. But first… a justice would need to be meted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had always been horrified at the idea of an Alpha treating their Omega poorly. But now, that fury was sharper. Keener. The dryad deserved to be punished for his cruelty and temerity.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I will not allow such an affront to what should be.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She took another step, about to plunge headlong onto the dancefloor, only to be brought up short by a hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rounding with a snarl, her fingers curved into claws, Persephone came face to face with a wide-eyed Artemis.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Persephone," she said in a frightened voice, "what's going on? I was calling your name and you didn't answer."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The noise she'd heard, lost in the roaring of her pulse. Distantly, beneath the insistent surge of fury, Persephone knew that she would need to reassure her friend that she was fine.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And how could I be anything other than fine when I finally feel like all of me is free?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She opened her mouth to answer, only to have the wind knocked out of her yet again. Once more by an onslaught on her senses, but not by a barrage. Rather, just one scent. It cut through the morass like a clear current through a murky stream. Smoke and wood, the potency of fire and the promise of renewal in ashes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mouth watered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Persephone was sure that at some point in her life, she must have smelled pleasing aromas. However this new scent consumed her, rendering all others vile and forgotten. It was perfect. She knew that she could go the rest of her immortal life smelling nothing else in the realms and be blissfully content.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Closing her eyes, mouth falling open as if to drink it in, she savored the scent of a winter forest fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An Omega. Male. Older. Persephone’s nose twitched as she filtered through the scents. Something seemed to be missing. She shook herself. It was no matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How can I care that he is missing one thing when the rest of him smells so </span>
  </em>
  <span>right</span>
  <em>
    <span>?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The dark, coiled awareness in the back of her mind suddenly reared, attentive and alert, rigid tension cascading down her back and her hands clenching. For this Omega did not smell of </span>
  <em>
    <span>heat later</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He smelled of </span>
  <em>
    <span>heat NOW</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and moreover he smelled of frustrated misery and thwarted need.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Artemis and the dryad were immediately forgotten. The hopeful Omegas waiting along the dancefloor were forgotten. Every fiber of Persephone’s body aligned and attuned to one purpose and she slipped from her friend’s grip, slipping nimbly between revelers until she was lost to sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This Omega. She would find him. She would scent him and tell him that he was the most beautiful creature that could ever exist in the realms. She would ask to soothe the pain she could sense from him and she would see him smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would find the Omega. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Heats last about four days. There is a slow build over the course of the first 6 hours or so (thus Hades delaying going home. He has a window where he doesn’t HAVE to be sequestered), leading up to about 48 to 60 hours of high heat where the Omega is entirely given over to their needs, then a slow tapering until the heat resolves.</p><p>Omegas will produce slick when in heat: anal, penile, and vaginal lubrication. Additionally, an Omega naturally has an almost non-existent gag reflex. They are designed by their biology to be sexually receptive to Alphas in every way.</p><p>The scents of Alphas and Omegas have to do with their compatibility. Since the Alpha/Omega instincts and drives are rooted in, among other things, producing offspring, there would be a mechanism to determine the most suitable mate. The more suitable the individual, the better their scent will be. The less suitable, the more off-putting they will smell. This is why Zeus and Poseidon stink to Hades, especially in heat. They are related to him and so are not suitable at all (The biologic drive does not discern that pregnancy cannot happen with a male/male pairing. It is only concerned with compatibility of genetics). This is why Minthe tells him that he smells of death- though it is considered in polite society to be the crassest of bad taste to tell someone that you think they stink. </p><p>All beings with penises have the tissue that expands and forms knots. Alphas can expand their knot comparatively at will. Betas cannot use their knot at all. Omegas can knot, but only when given the command by an Alpha. It is possible for an Omega to climax without the knot, either their own or that of an Alpha, but it will be a weak climax that is more frustration than relief.</p><p>Omegas and Alphas present in much the same way as the onset of puberty in the real world. Between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, secondary puberty (presentation) will begin with a fever, leading to the first heat or rut for the individual.</p><p>Alphas cannot breed with Alphas. Betas can produce children with Alphas, but the chance of any given encounter leading to pregnancy is fairly low. Betas have a similarly low chance of producing children with Omegas, but the need in Omegas for knotted sex is so strong that sex with Betas cannot truly satisfy them and is generally only a last resort.</p><p>An Alpha/Omega pair that is not in heat or rut has a probability of producing children that is about real world human average (a Beta/Beta pair has a similar chance). An Omega in heat that has sex with an Alpha (or an Alpha in rut having sex with an Omega) has a significantly higher chance of pregnancy, and if an Omega and Alpha have sex during a simultaneous heat and rut, a child is a virtual certainty.<br/>Birth control medication is considered essential for Omegas and Alphas not in mated pairs. Both male and female varieties exist. For the most part, Alphas recognize their part of responsibility to take the medication, but a not insignificant percentage view it as "an Omega problem" or that taking the medication thwarts natural biology in an unacceptable way.</p><p>Suppressants are available both for Alpha rut and Omega heat, but they are dangerous to take too often. They are best used when tracking the rut or heat cycle and administered 24 hours before it is scheduled to begin. They have the effect of muting the heat/rut scent and diminishing the sexual need that marks a heat or rut. While this allows the individual to go out and function in society instead of sequestering for the duration, the experience is not pleasant. The body knows what it needs to do and the hormones are still there, just muted. A suppressed Alpha or Omega will be irritable and prone to erratic behavior. Consequently, most believe that it is easier to simply ride out a rut or heat rather than suppressing.</p><p>In LO canon, it is not yet known if Hades is truly infertile or if he just believes himself to be. However, for purposes of this fic, he is. A fertile Omega would have a certain layer to their scent and Hades is just missing that layer. It is apparent to everyone that he is infertile. An extreme mark of societal shame, though one that is generally not remarked on out of politeness (at least to his face). This is another reason that Minthe tells him he smells of death.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A belated thank you to Alulah for the title.</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who has reacted with such enthusiasm.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Yeah, Odysseus! Move along!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Poseidon's shout was followed immediately by the </span>
  <em>
    <span>thump thump</span>
  </em>
  <span> of his fist on the glass wall, and Hades grimaced as the noise echoed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would it be too much trouble for you to keep it down?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Poseidon cast an apologetic look his way, lowering his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, man.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades grunted and made no other response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had abandoned his largely untouched glass of scotch and his chair, stretching out on his back on the floor. The cool tile was soothing against his heated skin, but Hades had little doubt that soon enough some discomfort or other would send him back up to his feet once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For now, he had found a position in which the plug in his ass didn't prod too badly and the aching pulse low in his belly was tolerable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The heat was progressing by slow degrees, though he still had several hours before high heat began. That would be the point at which he really could not be in public unless he wanted a mortifying experience, so he felt more or less safe where he was. But the sensation of rising heat felt akin to the old metaphor of the frog in the pot. Danger increasing too slowly to recognize.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Not that I don't know precisely what's coming. But I can't say being boiled alive isn't a more appealing option than this misery.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dark, wet spots of slick had begun to appear on the fabric of his trousers. Uncomfortable and embarrassing, but little to be done about it. There was no practical way to plug up penile slick as there was for anal. Fortunately, the flow of it would be much less than the anal until high heat began. Unless he scented a compatible Alpha.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yet one more reason to curse biology. Ruined suits.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades drew in a deep breath, risking a lungful of his brothers' repulsive scents for the sake of a sigh, and nearly choked as he was washed in the sweetest aroma he had ever scented.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The air left his chest in an explosive wheeze and he hurriedly inhaled again, rolling over and pushing up onto his knees, ignoring the startled glances of his brothers. He was desperate for more of the scent. He wanted to drown in it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Flowers and honey and a deep, earthy flavor of the potential of growing things. A sultry spice that promised hidden depths. Fertile sun-drenched fields teeming with life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He closed his eyes and </span>
  <em>
    <span>breathed, </span>
  </em>
  <span>mouth falling open, letting the truth carried in the scent sink in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Alpha</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not just any Alpha…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One that smelled as perfect to him as any being could. Hades knew that he could sit at her feet and be content to simply be allowed to gaze upon her, breathing that heady scent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His body rippled in a spasm of desire and Hades moaned under his breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, perhaps not so content to simply sit...</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The half erection he'd been so carefully not touching all evening swelled against the fabric of his trousers, the dark spots spreading.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His belly clenched, a wild exultation singing inside him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not just for the idea of an Alpha at this moment when he needed one most, but for the scent, the very </span>
  <em>
    <span>idea</span>
  </em>
  <span>, of this Alpha.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If her scent was so deliriously good, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be well-matched. He'd never smelled another Alpha that was even halfway as enticing. She would feel the same, be just as eager. Wouldn't she?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ice water coiled his insides at the thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What if he didn't smell as appealing to her? What if she liked his scent, but knowing he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>incomplete </span>
  </em>
  <span>put her off? What if...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He quailed under the weight of uncertainty, nearly giving up then and there, unable to stomach the idea of rejection. It would be easier to face the loneliest of cycles than to be rejected by this Alpha, this epitome of attraction scented being.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As his heart pounded with fear, however, unexpected resolve curled around his spine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was a king. Ancient and powerful. He commanded legions of shades. He would not be thwarted by </span>
  <em>
    <span>what ifs.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If there was a chance that this intoxicatingly scented Alpha could accept him, he had to try. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>If she rejects me… well, it will hardly be a new experience</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he pushed himself to his feet, Hades chuckled darkly. He would never have expected a lifetime of rejection to be fortification in this moment, but he would take what he could get.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Where are you going?" Poseidon asked, from the side of the room where he and Zeus had both been watching warily. Hades straightened his coat and cuffs, his neatened appearance at odds with the obviously bulging erection spreading wet spots on the front of his trousers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There's an Alpha downstairs," Hades said, striding toward the door. "I must go to her."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Whoa, whoa!" Zeus exclaimed, moving in front of him, holding up his hands. "This room blocks scent, Hades. You know that. There's no way you can sense one Alpha out in that throng." Zeus looked at him with such pitying concern that Hades wanted to hit him. "Are you sure you're not too far along? Is this high heat desperation?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, it's not,” Hades snapped, irritated not only by the delay, but his brother’s patronizing tone. “It's-" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d had every intention of telling them how good this Alpha smelled, how everything in him hungered for this perfect being. But he hesitated. He wanted to keep this knowledge to himself for at least a little longer, to savor knowing how exquisite she was without being concerned aboutfor the reactions of others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not desperation,” he said simply. “I don’t care if you believe me or not. I’m going. I need her.” He felt the pull of the Alpha with every beat of his heart. His scent glands felt swollen already, at neck and wrist, and he knew his heated body was instinctively crying out to this Alpha, responding to her, beckoning her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried to step around Zeus, only to have Poseidon catch at his elbow..</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You can't go down there, Hades!” he exclaimed, “You'll be mobbed!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades shook his head, reckless. They were right; his thinking mind knew they were. A club thronging with Alphas was no place for an Omega in heat. It was most of the reason he was up in the loft in the first place. But his thinking mind was no match for Omega instincts, not now when the throb of heat rippled through him and there was an Alpha with scent so extraordinary that he could hardly bear it, right downstairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Find Alpha. She will help. She will make it stop hurting…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zeus folded his arms. “Hades, your scent is being blocked by this room. The moment that door opens, every Alpha in this place will be able to smell that you’re in heat. Poseidon’s right. You’ll be mobbed. Or worse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried to dodge around his brothers, lunging for the door, letting out a whimpering cry as Poseidon grabbed him around the middle, halting him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades struggled, but in vain. Poseidon’s grip was like iron. “She’ll protect me, I know she will. Please! I have to go!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Omega, you will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> go down there!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades flinched away from them, away from Zeus' barked command. “No, please,” he whispered weakly, but the command was already sinking in, the irresistible effect of an Alpha’s authority on an Omega’s need. He fell to his knees, all the fight going out of him as he whispered brokenly, “You swore you wouldn’t…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He slumped, tears springing to his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zeus looked abashed. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> sorry, Hades, but I had to. It’s not safe for you to go down there." He crouched down, brotherly concern in his voice, but Hades couldn’t bring himself to meet his brother’s eyes, the sense of betrayal as strong as the induced submissiveness of a commanded Omega. Zeus went on, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>If </span>
  </em>
  <span>there is an Alpha that you can smell from up here, one of us can go try to find her. But I can’t let you go."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades wanted to protest, to fight, but he couldn’t. Not with the compulsion of command on him tugging at the very same core of his nature that craved to follow instinct.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Go to Alpha. She will help.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The drive beat in his chest like a second heartbeat, unbearable in its compulsion. But he couldn’t follow it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking, he wrapped his arms around his body, feeling as though his very being were rending in two.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>_______________</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone wound her way through the thrum of bodies, music, and lights, shying away from vile scents, the analytical part of her mind noting the pleasant ones, but always, always driven by the instinct that said she had to find the source of the smoky scent. She needed it. She needed...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Him</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her body ached with the urge to comfort this Omega, to ease both his heat and the layers of distress she could feel in him like wounds. His scent throbbed with pain, new and old, and she wanted to wrap him in affection until he forgot every ill.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a part of her rational mind that knew what she was feeling, even if it didn't at all understand how. She was scenting like an Alpha. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>an Alpha. There was no other answer, no other possibility. She held an almost clinical curiosity as to the cause, but in the larger picture, it didn’t matter. For nineteen years, her true self had been hidden from her and now it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>free. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone reached the stairs in the corner and took them at a run, the scent she sought growing stronger and stronger until-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pushing open the door, she saw them immediately. Three gods- brothers, from their scents- were in the middle of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knew them immediately; a combination of textbook reading and analyzing their scents. The triarchy. The Alpha and Omega kings. Zeus, straightening from his crouch and turning to face her with Poseidon, shock on their faces, and…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hades</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her gaze fell on the blue hued god kneeling on the floor and saw his bereft expression melt to one of wonder. He watched her with wide eyes, the look of a being unable to believe his fortune. The look of a creature starved, then presented with a feast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Alpha</span>
  </em>
  <span>..." he whispered, lifting an out-stretched hand to her, and- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fates-</span>
  </em>
  <span> hearing that word in his deep voice, along with scenting the surge of arousal and need in him that accompanied it, was a spur to the deepest part of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Protect. Defend. Soothe the Omega.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She crossed the room to him immediately, the heartbeats separating them from the moments of touch, intolerable. She took his hand with one of hers- his trembling, broad hand, so large around her own- and cupped his cheek with the other. His skin was hot to the touch, not quite feverish but close, and a current of wildfire surged between them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades shivered, letting out a soft moan as he turned his face against her wrist, nostrils flaring as he breathed her scent. The flesh of her arm prickled with goosebumps as his lips, so soft, brushed over the skin covering her scent gland.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Possessive elation filled Persephone at the idea that the Omega she sought wanted her scent, wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She hungered to bury her nose against his scent glands, letting the smoke and fire of him wash over her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades’ eyes blinked open, beautifully long lashes revealing blue eyes flickering with red. He gazed up at her and she could read everything in his eyes and in his scent: how much he wanted her, the pain of unmet heat, his fear and anxiety.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Please, Alpha," he whispered, his breath brushing against her wrist, "It </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts</span>
  </em>
  <span>..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A hot thrill raced down her spine, roaring arousal curled inextricably with Alpha need. That awareness in the back of her mind was crowing in triumph, certain that she would help this beautiful Omega. She could give him what he needed. What they </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> needed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her sex throbbed with arousal and her nipples tingled, tightening against the fabric of her dress. She very nearly sank to the floor with him right then and there, giving in to the ecstatic pull.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But they had an audience. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unacceptable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her Alpha instincts, the possessiveness eased somewhat by knowing they were brothers, still bristled at the idea of intrusion. Tossing a short glance at Zeus and Poseidon, she said curtly, “You will leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, wait just one damn minute,” Zeus snapped, even as Poseidon nodded his head emphatically, trying to pull his brother toward the door. “You have no right to come in here, giving orders-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” she barked a laugh, casting a scathing glance at him and stroking her thumb over Hades’ cheek reassuringly as he whimpered at the delay. “Leave. Both of you. Now.” She put the snap of steel into her voice, letting her impatient anger edge her tone sharply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zeus visibly bristled, but Poseidon clamped a hand over his brother’s mouth as he regarded Persephone carefully, his green eyes worried. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Will you help him?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone nodded. "If he wishes me to."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Poseidon let out a breath. “Good. Thank you.” He bodily turned Zeus. “We’ll guard the stairs." With that, he shoved his scowling, grumbling brother toward the door and, in a flash, both kings had left the loft.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I asked them not to send me home," Hades whispered hoarsely, nuzzling into her hand. His body listed toward her, as if compelled closer. "It would be worse to be at home and alone."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gazed up at her, his blue eyes turning red and filled with such lust that it stole her breath, yet somehow it was still the softest look she had ever seen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone sank down to her knees in front of Hades. She dropped her hand from his face, lifting the hand she still held and burying her nose against his wrist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A soft, animal noise escaped him as she inhaled deeply, the intensity of his scent nearly sending her reeling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked up at him- and up… </span>
  <em>
    <span>so big…- </span>
  </em>
  <span>watching as his lips parted, his chest rising and falling in gasping breaths. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You aren’t alone, Omega.” She kissed his wrist, right over his scent gland, and watched as his eyes fluttered. "Have you been drinking?" The room smelled strongly of liquor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head even as he shivered at the use of his designation. "I had thought it might help, but it just turned my stomach. I had two sips at most."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded. "Good. I want you to be able to consent to everything. Do you wish for me to help you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded fervently. "Please, Alpha. It hurts so much."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That same hot shiver surged through her again at the sound of the plea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ssh, easy," she purred, brushing another kiss over his wrist and dropping her hands to his thighs. "I know it hurts. You've tried to be so strong, haven't you? You tried so hard to be brave. You don't need to struggle anymore, sweet one."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The words flowed from her as though some wellspring inside her knew just what to say, could look at the tension in his face, feel it in his body, and know exactly what he had been through this night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No more. No more pain. Only as much bliss as I can give.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she lifted her hands to the front of his trousers, Hades' own hands falling to rest on his thighs as though he feared being too forward, Persephone marveled at herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had never intimately touched a man. Had expected she never would. Joining the Goddesses of Eternal Maidenhood should have ensured she never did. Yet, here she was, everything she thought she knew about herself turned upside down, her fingers brushing over the hard flesh of this king who moaned so enticingly as she unfastened the snap and drew down his zipper… and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>revelled.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her fingers itched to touch, her ears craved to hear his pleasured noises, and her body </span>
  <em>
    <span>throbbed</span>
  </em>
  <span>, wetness dampening her thighs. The fabric of her underwear clung slickly to her flesh, and the taut fire in her belly twisted sharply as she eased him out of his confining clothing, and Hades mewled quietly at the touch of her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>big</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Long and thick, the girth of him amply filled her hand. The shaft twitched gently, the slow upward curve of it leading to a cowl of flesh- </span>
  <em>
    <span>foreskin, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the memory of her textbooks helpfully supplied- and, as she carefully wrapped her fingers around the swollen shaft, stroking downward, the cowl slipped back, revealing the head, a darker blue than the rest of him. Clear droplets of slick beaded from the small slit at the tip of him, one after the other, the flow increasingly rapidly until a continuous stream slipped free and dripped down over her fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re so wet for me, Hades,” she murmured, stroking a finger across his tip, gathering the fluid and smoothing it down his shaft. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His breathing hitched and he moaned, hips twitching fitfully as if he yearned to thrust into her touch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Th-thank you, Alpha,” he rasped. “I want to be pleasing for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her core clenched. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pleasing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. An Omega produced slick to please the Alpha. His body was preparing itself for her. For sex. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> sex. It was plain to see for anyone who knew anything about Omegas. Yet, amid his own painful heat, he spoke not of what he needed, but what he wanted to give her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You please me, Omega,” she whispered, watching as his eyes fluttered closed as he inhaled deeply, and her eyes widened in shock as a tear slipped free to trace down his cheek. Rising up on her knees, she cupped her hand against the back of his head, the soft strands of his hair tickling her fingers, and she rested her forehead against his.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you weep, Hades?” she asked, voice trembling. The idea of him in further distress was like a knife in her belly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To think that I please you…” he whispered. “It is an amazing feeling.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Emotion choked Persephone’s throat and she blinked back tears of her own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Open your eyes, Omega,” she whispered, “Let me see you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately, his eyes opened and that dark instinct growled approval at his obedience. Flares of red escaped his gaze as he blinked, rapt and attentive, the shine of emotion in his eyes. Persephone stroked her hand through his hair as her other hand stroked slowly along his shaft.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You please me,” she told him softly as he mewled. “You are so hard for me and so wet. Hades, sweet Omega, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His tiny whimpers gave way to a deep gasp, more tears slipping free to track down his cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alpha, p-please…” His voice was a quiet rasp. “May I hold you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone let out a small laugh, tears of her own escaping. How had her life been turned around quite so thoroughly that she was with an Omega, her hand on his erection, and he asked to simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>hold</span>
  </em>
  <span> her?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. Yes, you may.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately, his arms lifted, wrapping around her as carefully as he might hold the most fragile treasure, as though he did not dare a firmer touch. His head dropped to her shoulder and she could feel his breath against the side of her neck, flickering over her scent gland. His hips still moved fitfully against her strokes, and his breathy moans filled the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone thought quickly. She knew he needed sex. The Alpha instincts in her </span>
  <em>
    <span>howled</span>
  </em>
  <span> to climb astride him, urged her to pull aside her underwear and sink down on the thick shaft she held, sheathing him inside her body. She throbbed for it. Fates knew, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> did. She could feel his pulse in the thick ridge running along the underside of his erection. But the last bit of her rational thought gave her pause.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wanted to talk with him, to tell him that it would be her first time and that she wanted him for it. She could only hope that she could satisfy him. The Alpha surety in the back of her mind was gleefully confident that she would, but…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Surely a king has had all kinds of sex. How can a silly village girl who didn’t even know she was an Alpha match up?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But, even as she worried, she heard the ragged hitch in his breathing, heard his soft moans and felt his hips lifting against her downstrokes, felt the copious slick turning every stroke into a smooth glide, and knew that, even if there were profuse sexual experience in his past, those times were behind him. Here and now, she was arousing him, powerfully so, silly village girl or not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As if he could hear her thoughts, Hades whispered, his breath gusting against her throat, “Alpha, that feels so good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad to hear it,” she murmured with a smile, thinking fast. She wanted to talk to him, but he would be needing release badly by this point. Not only did she feel the powerful urge to bring him to climax however she could, she thought it unlikely that he would be able to focus on anything but need. If she were to have a chance to talk before things escalated, she would need to clear his head. Could she bring him to climax with just her hand? It was worth a try.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hades,” she said softly, letting her hand linger at the base of him on the next downstroke, tightening her grip over where his knot would form. “I want you to climax for me like this. I want you to knot my fist and show me your pleasure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He went still as a statue, even seeming to stop breathing. His arms dropped from around her and, as Persephone blinked in surprise, he lifted his head from her shoulder, regarding her with huge and wounded eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-you don’t want me to…” he whispered tremulously, before seeming to catch himself. His back stiffened and he looked terrified for a moment, before dropping his gaze down and to the side, crushed deference in every line of his body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yes, Alpha,” he whispered, and the utter sadness in his voice nearly ripped Persephone’s heart from her chest. In the span of his words, understanding dawned and surprise melted to fury at herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Idiot girl. Of course he would be hurt at the idea that he didn’t please me enough to want him fully.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her stomach twisted with the urgent need to soothe his obvious pain, made all the worse by his trying to mask his distress. Someone had hurt him, and badly, conditioning him to accept rejection of his most basic needs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrambling even closer, pressing nearer until she was almost straddling his knees, Persephone released her grip on his shaft to cup his jaw with both hands, lifting his face. Hades made no move to resist her, allowing her to raise his gaze to meet hers, and Persephone almost whimpered with empathetic pain at the anguish writ on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> want you to</span>
  <em>
    <span>,</span>
  </em>
  <span> my king,” she whispered, low and intense. He blinked, some of the fear-shot loneliness melting to complete shock. “I want you inside me. I want to feel your knot locking us together. I want to feel full of your climax. But I have never had sex before and I don’t want to rush this. Do you understand? I want you, Omega. In </span>
  <em>
    <span>every</span>
  </em>
  <span> way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades swallowed, his breathing coming in hoarse pants. “I understand,” he whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you put your arms around me again and let me give you pleasure with my hand?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Alpha.” Hades lifted his arms and wrapped them around her with a tender care that made Persephone’s heart clench. She dropped one of her hands to encircle his shaft once more, shifting the other to brush her fingertips softly against his lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name is Persephone, Hades.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Persephone…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He closed his eyes as he whispered her name, soft and drawn out as though he were savoring the flavor of each syllable on his tongue. His lips moved against her fingers and Persephone could not resist the temptation. She stroked her fingers to cup his cheek as she leaned in, bringing their lips together in a kiss so soft it might have been a brush of air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades made a small and needful noise, lips parting, and Persephone deepened the kiss with a muffled cry of her own. She had kissed gods before, sneaking off with Hermes to practice, thinking herself clever. She had thought kissing to be enjoyable enough, but hardly something noteworthy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How wrong she had been.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades’ arms tightened around her and his shaft twitched in her hand as she caught her fingers into his hair and teased her tongue against his parted lips. She could taste him, the very essence of him that defined his scent, that smoky and cold flavor of a forest fire in winter. When Hades opened his mouth at her questioning caress, she took the invitation, her tongue sliding against his as slowly and sensuously as her hand stroked his shaft.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He groaned, the noise long and low, vibrating against her tongue and straight down her spine. Persephone stroked him rhythmically, from root to tip, spreading his slick with a twist of her wrist until his entire shaft was coated. Her sex throbbed at the thought of what he might feel like sliding into her body. Whether it hurt or not, she had no doubt that it would be an incredible feeling to have the length of him, hot and wet, lodging deep inside her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades groaned again, this time the noise carrying a note of desperation. With a ragged gasp, he broke the kiss, breathing heavily as he fought for steady breaths.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m close,” he rasped. “I’m so close, Alpha.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you ready, Hades?” she crooned, “Are you ready to come for me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He whimpered. “Please, Persephone. Alpha, please, let me come for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She slid her hands down his shaft, wrapping her fingers around the base of him as tightly as she could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Knot for me, sweet Omega.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The flesh beneath her hands immediately swelled, smoothly arcing bulges distending from the sides of his shaft. She had been able to fully encircle him with room to spare with both hands before, but now her fingertips barely met.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades shuddered, a long ripple that shook his entire frame, and he twitched hard in her hands, once, then again and again and again. The flow of slick turned opaque white for a moment, then the flow became a gush, jets of fluid arcing from him to spatter against her. He curled forward at the waist, burying his face against her shoulder, his big hands splayed flat against her back, trembling and whimpering as pulse after pulse after pulse left him. Persephone purred praises, holding her hands tight around his knot, giving him as much pressure as she could around his girth, her body aching to feel the swollen flesh inside her own sheath. Her body knew somehow; it recognized the swell of the knot under her hands and those Alpha instincts told her just how thoroughly they were made for each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Soon. I hope. I want to help him through the rest of this heat…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gradually, Hades stilled, his soft cries fading, and he slumped, his arms falling to encircle her waist. Persephone turned her head to press a kiss to the sweat-dampened hair at his temple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you all right?” she asked quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades let out a long sigh, the most contented that Persephone thought she had ever heard from any being. He lifted his head to reveal a radiant smile and eyes shining with emotion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Alpha. I am so much more than just all right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled and blushed, even as a worry prodded at her. “I know that probably wasn’t as good as it could have been. I gave you as much pressure as I could.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alpha…” Hades shook his head with a crooked smile. “That was the greatest sexual experience of my life. I could live a blissful eternity with just the memory of your touch."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow, in the face of all that had happened, this was what disarmed Persephone: knowing that even her inexperienced touch could have meant that much to this man. With a small cry, she leaned into him, pressing their lips into a kiss as tender as she could manage, her hands still taut around his knot and his arms holding her close.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Persephone closed her eyes and let the pure bliss of the moment wash over her. Hades sat, curled forward slightly so that his head rested on her shoulder, his big hands spread against her back. She still sat astride his thighs, her hands kept as tight as she could manage around his swollen knot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sweet scent of </span>
  <em>
    <span>content Omega</span>
  </em>
  <span> surrounded them, intertwined with Hades’ own smoky essence, mingling with the salt-musk of arousal and semen. It should have been a dizzying array, should have been overwhelming to her now heightened senses. Instead, it was just... </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She supposed that it had to be due to the brand new Alpha instincts coursing through her. There was such a sensation of smug satisfaction at the feeling of him against her, the last shivering aftershocks of orgasm rippling through his body, the feeling of the flood of semen and slick on her skin, knowing that she had relieved his pain and given him pleasure instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was just glad that she knew anything at all about Omegas, considering how she had grown up. Even though this was entirely new to her in terms of practical experience, she knew a fair bit about Omega psychology from her studies. Even beyond basic health information, she had been fascinated by the differences between the designations and had hungered to learn all that she could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe that was these instincts trying to break free. Maybe something in the back of my mind always wanted to know more about Omegas for a</span>
  </em>
  <span> reason </span>
  <em>
    <span>and I just never knew why…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But there was a strong sense that, though Alpha instincts were involved, there was something deeper than mere carnal pleasure. Underneath the purring knowledge of a pleasured Omega, there was a thrum of contentment that she had done this for </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hades</span>
  </em>
  <span>, a knowledge that somehow she had sated something unique in both of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades sighed quietly and lifted his head enough to brush a kiss against her scent gland, he hesitated, as if asking for permission. She lifted her head a little more to give him access, smiling softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope that I can please you well, Hades. I want to help with everything I can.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her fingers itched to touch him, to stroke his hair and face, peppering kisses onto his skin. But she kept her hands tight around his knot, past the point that her fingers had begun to ache, wanting to give him as much pleasure in the act as she could. She knew that pressure on his knot would be important to make his climax as satisfying as possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her core clenched at the thought of how else she might put pressure around his knot. Sheathing him inside her body would be tighter than she could manage with her hands, wouldn’t it? She tried to imagine the thick length of him sliding into her, then growing even thicker as his knot expanded at her command.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shivered, feeling a gush of arousal soaking her underwear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Alpha.” Hades whispered as his lips brushed against her throat and her heart thumped at the sweet sincerity in his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're welcome." She started to release him, to lift her hands and caress his face but stopped with a jolt. "How long do your knots usually last?" she asked with a sheepish smile. "I want to touch you, but I don't want to let go too soon and ruin anything."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh." He blushed adorably. "They can last a while, but my- um, climax is over. Letting go won't ruin anything now."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone nodded and she released her grip carefully, then shook her fingers out gingerly, with a shy smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widened. "Doing that hurt you?! Oh, Fates. Alpha, I'm s-sorry!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hands fluttered, as if he wanted to touch her but didn't dare, even as he visibly flinched away from her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hades, it's all right! I wanted to!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She caught at his hands and lifted one, pressing a kiss to the base of his palm and breathing in his scent. Even as he began to relax, he audibly moaned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sweet Omega," Persephone whispered, stroking her other hand into his hair, then down to cup his jaw as she had so desperately wanted to do, "my fingers are just a little sore, but it was so much more than </span>
  <em>
    <span>worth it</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do that for you. You swelled up and climaxed so hard for me. It was beautiful."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His breath hitched and his eyes shone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"May I kiss your fingers?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone nodded, then watched as he took her hands in his, handling them as tenderly as he might cup a fragile bird, and lifted her fingers to his lips one after the other. He pressed a kiss to each fingertip, then the backs of each finger, his eyes drifting closed. Persephone’s heart clenched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Fates, I can smell my musk on your hands," he groaned, closing his eyes as he sniffed her palm. Persephone laughed. Somehow the combination of tender and sexual was charming on him. She curled her fingers around his jaw, caressing her palm against his lips and nose, and Hades let out a guttural groan, nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you like how we smell together, Omega?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Fates, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>," he rumbled, and his tongue darted out to lick her palm. Persephone shivered at the soft caress, helpless to stop herself from imagining that tongue elsewhere on her body. What would it feel like? What would it be like to be the target of his undivided attention?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you like the taste of yourself?” she whispered, just for the sake of something to say to distract herself. She was shocked when Hades blushed violently and dropped his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He squeezed his eyes shut and started trying to back away, only succeeding in falling off his knees and sitting on the floor, long legs splayed. Persephone frowned, scooting on her knees after him, reaching out, but he flinched from her hand- a small, quickly hidden motion, but unmistakable- and she let her hand drop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hades, what’s wrong? I didn’t mean to upset you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Upset </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” He lifted his eyes to meet hers at that point, incredulity in the scarlet flickers still lingering in their depths. “Why in Tartarus would </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> be upset?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone lifted her shoulders in a frustrated shrug, her confusion prickling under her skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You reacted like you just wanted to get away from me. It looked like being upset to me. I just don’t understand why…” She sighed, a little of the hurt clenching her belly escaping in the sound. She had thought things were going so </span>
  <em>
    <span>well</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Idiot girl.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hades’ blush deepened even more and he wrapped his arms around his chest, looking away from her. When he spoke, it sounded as though the words were dragged from him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to pretend I’m not an… aberration. I know it’s not n-normal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone’s eyes flared wide in shock, her pulse thumping in her throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hades, I don’t understand. Why would something like that make you an ab-” She stopped herself. Even though the word was his own, it felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Too dismissive, too negative. Even if there was something here that she didn’t understand, she refused to think of him as something malformed. “Why would that be unusual?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He flicked a glance at her, surprise and wariness in his eyes, before looking away again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Surely you know it’s not... </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal</span>
  </em>
  <span> for Omegas.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even as he spoke, he flinched, shrinking in on himself even more. Persephone shuffled closer on her knees, stopping between his thighs. Before she could second-guess herself, before he could flinch further away, she reached out and cupped his face between her hands. She couldn’t bear the idea of him thinking anything about himself was anything other than magnificent. His eyes squeezed shut at her touch, but he didn’t pull away, as though he hungered too much for her touch to deny himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hades… I only know as much about Omegas as I read in my textbooks. Other than the basics of biology, I have no idea what’s normal and what isn’t. But…” She paused and stroked her thumbs over his cheekbones, loving the shape of his handsome face as she gently lifted her fingers under his jaw, coaxing him to look at her. When he lifted his worried blue eyes to hers, she smiled as reassuringly as she could. “I have a hard time believing that anything that brings a being as much pleasure as I just saw from you could be wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blushed again, but there was a smile on his lips and his scent carried notes of delighted surprise mingled with the lingering mortification. She would have much preferred no embarrassment, but for now, she would take what she could get. She stroked her hands up, threading her fingers into his hair, a possessive flare bursting to life inside her as Hades closed his eyes, leaning into her touch, some of the worry lines easing on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you tell me why you think it’s not normal?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That furrow between his brows deepened as his face squeezed into an abashed frown. The pleased look didn’t quite leave, but Persephone could see it fading. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hold no judgment on you for it. I thought your pleasure was beautiful. I just want to understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He drew in a shuddering breath, but seemed to take comfort from her words and closeness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Omegas aren’t supposed to like that kind of thing,” he said quietly. “We… aren’t supposed to like our own taste.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Persephone’s eyebrows raised. She was beginning to take a rather dim view of the notion of ‘supposed to’. If the breaking of her necklace was any indication, by her mother’s expectation Persephone was </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed to</span>
  </em>
  <span> be a nicely quiet and pliant Beta. She was not about to tell any being that they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed to</span>
  </em>
  <span> hinder themselves to meet the expectations of others. Even if he hadn’t been </span>
  <em>
    <span>beautiful </span>
  </em>
  <span>in his indulgence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who says you aren’t supposed to?” she asked with a smile. His eyes opened, wide and stunned. “Because the only ones I see here are you and I. You clearly enjoy it and I know I enjoyed watching you enjoy it. So…” Persephone shifted her hand and placed the tip of her index finger against his lower lip, pressing just enough to coax his mouth open. She smiled as she saw the flares of crimson in his eyes begin to rekindle at her suggestive motions. “Taste, Omega. If you wish.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes fluttered shut as he let out a guttural groan, his mouth falling open as his tongue slipped out to play against her finger. He lifted one hand to cradle hers as though it were the most precious of gifts, scenting and tasting. Persephone watched, entranced. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a distant, muddled part of her mind, somewhere deep in these new instincts and desires, that grumbled about there being </span>
  <em>
    <span>many</span>
  </em>
  <span> Omegas out in the realms, muttered that she should be out and exploring this new side of her awareness. But it was like a whisper on the wind, there and gone again, unmissed. For the greater part of her knew that she would find no other that felt as perfect for her as Hades. Surely no Omega could be as immaculate as he, as pleasing and wonderful. She knew for a fact that she desired no others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She watched as he cupped her palm to his face once more, breathing deeply of their mingled scents. A movement at the edge of her vision revealed that he was growing hard once more, and her core, wet and eager, clenched. She wanted him. Badly. Wanted to feel that hard shaft, the thick head breaching her, wanted to feel that magnificent knot swell at her command, to know that this beautiful Omega trusted her to command his pleasure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But knotting would mean being stuck in this place until they could separate, and Persephone wanted more for them. The Alpha in her curled in restless impulse to find some secluded place, somewhere safe to ride out his heat. A place where they would not be disturbed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could speak, before she could ask anything about where they could go, Hades lifted his gaze to meet hers, his eyes full of scarlet fire, and he rumbled in a voice like the cracking of stone, “Alpha, may I taste you?”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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